@@bluesey-182 I would say that YA shouldnt have spice coz more often than not those books show a toxic relationship in a good light coz it gets a bad example for them. Its fiction I know but young adults dont know better nor that the way those relationships are going is toxic and author gaslight it with SPICE.
@alexpiperhalliwell i wouldn't say that the majority of relationships in YA are toxic. and i also don't think there should never be sex scenes in YA books because that feels like purity cultures. teenagers are going to think about that stuff and seek out media with it, and that's natural. but I think too many adults want, like, very explicit scenes in these books, and that's not what those scenes have ever been in YA--if the book even has that sort of content. the vast majority of YA books with sex scenes in them that i read as a teenager were either fade to black, or super vague and short. and i also think it does teenagers a disservice to assume they're gonna think the toxic relationships that do exist in YA are normal or okay. i was able to tell when a relationship was toxic but still be entertained by it because it was fiction. not to say that it never happens, but i don't think it's the majority. because teenagers are smarter and more discerning than a lot people give them credit for. but this also brings up the conversation of parents who worry about these sort of things need to have open dialogues with their children about the content they're reading
The thing that gets me about the cartoon romance covers is the fact that it's bleeding into the historical romance genre. Part of the fun of historical romance is the beautiful painted covers with gorgeous dresses
I feel selling a book on tropes really only works well with romances. You already know it's going to end in a HEA, but the tropes give you an idea if you're more likely to enjoy the journey.
The epilogue thing was interesting and I understand the perspective but I LIVE for the epilogues. Granted, I have not read a lot of time skip kind of epilogues, especially in fantasy. But when it comes to romance, EPILOGUES ARE SO GOOD. The characters all throughout the book are trying do something or struggling to achieve something and that epilogue just gives me a slice of life kind of happiness that I really love and adore where the characters are just living life and thriving.
yes and maybe this is a weird thing of me, but I just want to know if the characters got what they wanted, if the story and all that has happened was worth it and epilogues give me that reassurance, even for more action oriented books, it tells me if by whatever final battle did they make things better? did it last? when it ends abruptly with a final kiss or just winning a battle it feels incomplete, like I want more
V.E Schwab did it right by posting the bonus story from The Archived online and then publishing it in the series bind-up a few years later. Love when bonus content is free online
This here! this is the way to do it! let people read it and then also include it in a different version for a *celebratory* edition later down the line.
7:03 me realizing I mostly read old books that have a table of contents and so didn't really notice they went away. I fully intend on having them in all the books I write. Also I love naming my chapters, it's like a fun little game of 'oh this thing happens in this chapter but how do I say that without spoiling it?'
With regards to the break ups in books (and I think in media in general) I recently saw this Bengali movie where the parent of one of the main characters had a fairy-tale romance but then the marriage ended in divorce and the parent said "just because our happily ever after was short lived does not mean it never existed. We were in love and full of joy during that part of our life and that made it worth it even if we did not stay together forever" (rough translation, forgive me it may not be exact) and that really made me want to see more portrayals of love like this.
Minor squabble: The hardcover to paperback conversion timeline is not a book trend. It's just the way the publishing cycle works. It's a business model. Like it or hate it, there is real data behind it. The hardcover gets its day in the sun ($$), then the paperback gives it new life ($).
I hate it when books release covers with like the movie/Tv movie posters in the movie / TV show is nothing like the book and the character on the book cover looks nothing like how the book character is described 😞
I agree for the most part, unless the book cover is so ugly that I seriously prefer the movie/TV version, and the tv poster doesn't really feature the characters, that is my case with City of Bones, the original cover was just a bare chest with the head cut of in a yellow city background and it is pretty ugly and looks like some weird erotic book, while I have an edition with a specific movie poster that just features the NYC skyline with the institute reflecting on the water, which is just better, but that is a rare case.
I feel like the character coming back to life thing can work really well if (1) it serves the story, (2) it comes with lasting consequences and (3) it's done in a world where death has happened and has been established to stick the extreme majority of the time so that they still hit you in the feels. For example (spoilers for Star Wars: the Clone Wars): Echo from Domino Squad. We'd seen countless clones die, including half of Domino Squad by that point, so when he didn't come out of an exploded ship, it was very reasonable to assume he'd gone as well. When we find out seasons later he'd survived, it wasn't a case of "oh he's alive, yay everything can go back to normal". He'd been mutilated and used to the point where he no longer felt he fit in with his regular clone brothers and decided to forge his own path with a new team, a team that felt like outcasts. And while he'd been missing, we'd seen the deaths of so many other clones we'd gotton attached to, including Echo's last squad mate Fives, who suffered one of the most tragic deaths in the series, and who died while thinking he was the final Domino to fall. When this show brought back characters from the dead, it felt earned. For Echo, it didn't mean a happy ending, but further character development and a hopeful beginning. I'm sure not everyone would agree with me, but that's my opinion on when a resurrection can work. It worked for me and, whenever I rewatch the ship exploding with Echo in it, It's still so tense and sad because of the trauma that event will cause him in the future, and from that moment he'd never see Fives again 😢
Omg the blurb/quote one. I will put a book down immediately if it only has a bunch of blurbs/quotes on the back. Other trend I HATE is when the author name is bigger than the title
That paperback one hits me especially. I only collect paperbacks, mostly for the fact that uk hardcovers are huge, and most don't fit on my shelf. And so when i have to wait a year or so to get it in paperback, I'm super pissed, especially if its a book ive really been looking forward to.
17:50 I hate country exclusive bonus chapters/short stories being locked down forever. Make it available at some point! Example: I preordered a book and so I was emailed an exclusive short story that bridged the 2 books- awesome! Like a year(?) or so later it was published as a bonus novella that anyone could buy, and I love that! I got to read it first, keeping the meaning of a preorder bonus, but eventually everyone got to enjoy it. That's how it should be!
As someone who learned English later in life and doesn’t live in an English speaking country the accent change at 14:50 tripped me up badly haha! Suddenly my brain didn’t recognize your words as English for a few seconds. And after that English in general started sounding as foreign as it did to me back in fifth grade. But thankfully now I’m back to hearing it completely normally
As a fellow non native English speaker I can tell you you're not alone 😂 I once watched a show where a Scot and an American talked on the phone and I just couldn't understand the Scottish character at all eventho, when he was on screen alone, it was no problem. Accent switching is just very difficult to follow especially in a foreign language 😂
Thanks for featuring my comment! Absolutely agree with the cartoon covers all bleed together. I do really like the style but I can't differentiate between who's books are who's and I think it's pretty sad that there's no individuality anymore in terms of style. This also translates to other cover trends but the romance genre is just the first to come to mind since, in my opinion, it is the biggest offender.
I want us to go back to the painted book covers for romance books. I'm talking the ones from the 1980s where you can see the brushstrokes and if you look enough you can find the artists signature (because these were actual paintings done of full size canvases that would then be photographed and scaled down). There was also a kind of intimacy that you could feel because you know that the artists spent days on the cover and not like a few hours in Photoshop.
I don't mind and I even like how books have tropes listed because it acts as a second summary with even more information. I hate being jumped scared by tropes or concepts or whatever that I hate or that actively freak me out so having all of these different tropes listed gives me a better play-by-play of what to expect. And I'm a character reader not a plot reader so I don't care if the tropes "ruin" the plot bc I'm not here for plot
I hate when the books in the same series are different heights. It makes me nervous to pick up the next book when im not sure it's the same as my other book
Yes. So much. What's even worse is when someone decides to switch from mass market to trade paperback sizes (looking at you,Mercedes Lackey anthologies)
I needed to hear someone complain about the state of publishing so bad 😭 I feel like no one around me does and it makes me feel like a snob or something
As a DC girlie, I actually really like the death-and-revival trope. There's always something interesting that happens in the inbetween part (ex. the fight for who should pick up the mantle, a metaphor for becoming an adult when a sidekick takes up their mentor's name, grief and terrible coping mechanisms, denial and the search for proof that the character is still alive, etc.). Plus, every now and then, the character that dies comes back with such a changed personality and/or morals, so all the effects of their death are still felt. The only time I don't like the trope is when there is barely any time between the death and revivial.
One thing that drives me crazy with books is when printed on the cover it says "check out *blank* by this author" If anything put it on a sticker. when I pick up my book to read it I want to focus on the one I'm reading, not to be thinking about the next book that has come out
Okay, I hadn't thought through getting rid of cartoon book covers until you said no real people on the covers, and that brought to mind all those Harlequin romance covered books my Mamaw had on her shelves. No hate to romance books! But I prefer my book covers to be a bit more.... subtle than THAT.
Yes so much to the return of the Table of Contents! I love going back to reread some of my favourite scenes once I finish a book I love, and that is *so* much easier when I don't have to flip through the entire book to find the chapter!
Lil late to the party with this one but I had a thought too I think part of the reason some people are getting tired of the cutesy art style for a lot of modern romance books is because even though they contain a lot of adult themes (like smut, etc.) and are CLEARLY written for adults, a lot of adolescents from ages 12+ are buying these books. Now I’m a firm firm believer that sex education should be taught younger on the pretense that statistically it lessens the chances of teen pregnancies, but these books are let’s say just fantasies for adults. Again that’s perfectly fine, I’m don’t mind a smut book once in a while, but publishers are actively targeting those same books to preteens/teens/young adults in attempt to make more profits. (The reports of that are true and can be found online) I think the best way to fix that issue is that books, just like movies, shows, and video games, need an age rating system. That way books that are for adults (including the author and cover artist) can keep their illustrated covers without having to worry about their reputation being dogged on because some kid’s parent didn’t fully look into a book their child picked. Movie theaters and game stores will not let minors walk into a screening for R/X rated movie, or walk out of a store with a game that is rated M. If they can do it, then why can’t libraries or stores like Barnes and Noble do it too?
In Germany we have a lot of abstract romance covers. Like flowing colors. It does not say anything about the book itself but I really love it. And I don't like the cartoon style coming over from America (or where ever). Just leave me with my unassuming swirls of color!
Go check out these authors: Nora Roberts Christine Feehan Amanda Quick Jayne Ann Krentz Lynsay Sands All adult smutty romance authors (NR it soft/light smut, but still good), AND THEY HAVE VARIETY COVERS! Especially NR, SOOOO gorgeous! I have never liked the cartoony/paint block covers, that doesn't give me adult romance vibes to me. Sabrina Jeffries Madeline Baker I LOVE these covers, actual smutty romance covers
Tbh I legit never read author blurbs. When book shopping these days I either have goodreads pulled up to get an actual description or I go in knowing I want.
13:36 i just read Brandon Sanderson book where the epilog was fighting and chasing and I was wow wow wow wait a minute... we just settled things down for the next book what is this now 😂😂😂
If I heard it right, they don't even publish paperbacks if the hardcover version doesn't sell well enough. So it's also a gamble to wait, you might miss out.
The spice thing is annoying because the people asking are asking on older YA books (pre 2019 releases) and it’s like… children having sex shouldn’t be a marketing point for you as an adult 😅. Also, those same people are either a) not getting adequate sex b) porn addicts or c) in their wattpad phase
Way too uniform cover styles are too common in any genre. I really want to support the upcoming new authors in my country, but the local cover aesthetic for literary fiction is 'late autumn dirt road puddle' and I'm like 'I had the best intentions but you know what? I can be dissuaded!'
I will check out a book from the library and wait a year to buy it in paperback before i spend $30+ on a hardcover. I wish the wait time was shorter, but I’ll do it 😔
The paperback system is the worst!! I’m one of those people who only buys paperback, but also wants to read the book in the same calendar year it was released in 😂
7:55 OMG! YES!!! YES YES YES YES!! Bring back the synopsis on the back! How the f do you expect me to buy your book if I don't know what it's about?? Nobody cares what the "Guardian" or the "New York Times" has to say about it! You want my money? Then just tell me what the plot is about!
To the book covers being a cartoon, YES! At first I would only see it by a certain author and I thought it was cute - after some time, i would see more over that same style come out and realize it wasnt by the same author like 🤔 why? Lol.
i hate it when books drag their plot out, too. if i don't feel like the story is moving forward, it feels line wasted time. - especially bc i'm a slow reader and also struggle when i feel like i'm not making any progress.
The falling in love / getting into a relationship within 2 chapters is one of the biggest book turn off for me 😅 I would rather have them not confess at all but WE KNOW they're in love for like 3 books
It's the year of our Lord 2024 and we're still not releasing paperbacks at the same time as hardbacks. Not everyone wants, can afford, or has the space for hardbacks. The fact that half the time I even forget a book came out because I had to wait so long for the paperback. Or they don't even advertise or announce a paperback release so it comes out and has been out for months and I didn't even notice
The only spice I want is in my food. I'm sick of books that always have spice or overspice or outright glorify and romanticize abuse (Looking at you especially, Colleen Hoover!)
Ideally, I love enemies to lovers. But 9 times out of 10, it's actually rivals to lovers, and not even truly that. Most of the time, it's the MC thinking they're "enemies" (rivals), and there's no real, ACTUAL tension outside of the MC's head. Additionally, the "enemy"/rival/love interest is neutral, or even already romantically interested in the MC.
Agree! Too many times they are just being outwardly spiky to each other but already attracted the whole time. I read a romance one where the mains were established to have been tense and fighting at work for months (off page) and started out being genuinely excited when they could get away from each other. That made it so much more meaningful when the events of the story changed their opinions.
The things I hate aren't really tropes but they are: - Dust jackets. Print the art on the damn cover. - When the cover is shorter for WHATEVER REASON leaving a strip of unprotected pages. Stop.
Spicy books are just another trend, it will go away eventually, especially if a lot of those books are no good. Honestly, I like erotica but I have ZERO interest in all the popular tik tok spicy books. there is a lot of great , sexy, emotional, beautiful romance books out there. it's just hard to find cuz too many trashy ones. But yeah, just because it's got spice in it, doesn't automatically make it bad book.
I don't mind smut, BUT....let it be a slow-burn! I am currently reading 600 page standalone and I can't count how many times I have read the word ''cock'' or ''orgasm'' like...give it a rest, gurl! I get it, some people like it, but I like my slow burn. Also, in the end the conversations end up looking lewd like...ughhh. Another thing that bothers me is ''love geometry''. Yeah, get rid of love triangles, please. They really aren't realistic...
I usually enjoy spice in my books. However a recent read literally began with it. First sentence plunged right into a s** scene…a long one! No introducing the characters or setting the stage for the story, just WHAM! Definitely not a good way to begin in my opinion.
Coat-tailing. I hate it. One person writes a successful vampire novel, suddenly every novel on the shelf has vampires. One person writes a successful enemies (or, more accurately, rivals) to lovers book, suddenly every book on the shelf is enemies to lovers, it's infuriating. I love me a good steak but I don't want it every time I eat. If a Michelin chef served me perfectly cooked steak every single meal, I'd quickly find myself at the local Maccas. Variety, people, it's the spice of life! ----- Using a salad bowl instead of a mug might make drawing the prompts a bit easier. ----- I don't mind reading spice but I don't need to see it in every book I ever read, and I don't like gratuitous spice that's just there for fan service and contributes nothing to the story. If I was in the mood for that, I'd be reading erotica, not romance lol. ----- I agree, bring back the table of contents and chapter titles. ----- I'd rather wait a decade for a magnificent sequel than settle quickly for a mediocre one. ----- I don't personally care for bonus chapters, but if they exist, they should be accessible to everyone who wants to read them. Reading is no place for that style of elitism. ----- I strongly dislike when authors bring characters back from the dead. (Except Harry Potter, that's okay lol). ----- I see no point in ghost written fiction. Either write it yourself or sell your idea to someone else. But, if it must happen, the actual writer should be acknowledged on the front cover.
I'm very pro-smut in books and am extremely wary of this very "sex-negative" seeming wave of discomfort with sexual content that seems to be happening online regarding media right now- HOWEVER, I think it is an issue that fantasy, YA, romance, and adult fiction seem to have been all just thrown into a giant mess of a singular genre, and it does feel quite difficult to effectively delineate what you actually want out of any one of those individual genres without having all of the baggage that comes with the others thrown at you as well. While I think if you feel like "all books have smut" these days, you're probably not looking very deeply- at the same time, I have full sympathy for the fact that the average book you see hyped up time and time again online seems to be the same romantasy smut vibe as the last thing. Smut isn't EVERYWHERE, but if you actively don't want it, publishers sure don't seem interested in making it easy to avoid stumbling into by accident.
I don't seek out spice and the only books I've read with spice is ACOTAR, Verity and Red White And Royal Blue. Red White And Royal Blue is the tamest out of those. I also only have a few spicy books (that I know of) on my TBR. Also, there are people who want spice in YA books. No! ACOTAR shouldn't even be considered YA. Many YA books have characters who are minors and the intended audience is also minors. It would not be appropriate and it would also be creepy for a grown adult to write that and for a grown adult to read that. If sex is mentioned, is should be a closed door/fade to black situation in YA. I am also sick of so many book recs having to do with spice. Spice is overrated and I definitely prefer romantic moments over sexual.
I hate when authors only briefly describe the main characters. I want the most thorough description of what the character looks like. Please stop giving, “beautiful tresses atop a beautiful woman”. Girl, that’s too vague!!
I'm so bored with the majority of primary characters being female. If Ian Fleming was writing today, he would have to make his hero Jane Bond in order to get it published. Decades ago female characters were often secondary and often two-dimensional and so rightly that needed to be worked on. But it's gone too far the other way. We now have macho women and wimpy men. I'm a woman, and I really miss having a selection of strong, complex and heroic males in books today.
That paperback one hits me especially. I only collect paperbacks, mostly for the fact that uk hardcovers are huge, and most don't fit on my shelf. And so when i have to wait a year or so to get it in paperback, I'm super pissed, especially if its a book ive really been looking forward to.
Absolutely! I have some preorders just waiting in my Waterstones basket, but I know there's at least two or three new releases this year that I really want, that are only being released in hardcover to begin with.
That paperback one hits me especially. I only collect paperbacks, mostly for the fact that uk hardcovers are huge, and most don't fit on my shelf. And so when i have to wait a year or so to get it in paperback, I'm super pissed, especially if its a book ive really been looking forward to.
I saw someone say "The cruel prince wouldve been better with spice still good though" MAAM THEY ARE 17 THEY ARE MINORS AND YOUR 30 ABSOLUTLEY NOT
omg yes, adults need to stop demanding spice from YA books
@@bluesey-182 I would say that YA shouldnt have spice coz more often than not those books show a toxic relationship in a good light coz it gets a bad example for them. Its fiction I know but young adults dont know better nor that the way those relationships are going is toxic and author gaslight it with SPICE.
@alexpiperhalliwell i wouldn't say that the majority of relationships in YA are toxic. and i also don't think there should never be sex scenes in YA books because that feels like purity cultures. teenagers are going to think about that stuff and seek out media with it, and that's natural. but I think too many adults want, like, very explicit scenes in these books, and that's not what those scenes have ever been in YA--if the book even has that sort of content. the vast majority of YA books with sex scenes in them that i read as a teenager were either fade to black, or super vague and short. and i also think it does teenagers a disservice to assume they're gonna think the toxic relationships that do exist in YA are normal or okay. i was able to tell when a relationship was toxic but still be entertained by it because it was fiction. not to say that it never happens, but i don't think it's the majority. because teenagers are smarter and more discerning than a lot people give them credit for. but this also brings up the conversation of parents who worry about these sort of things need to have open dialogues with their children about the content they're reading
@alexpiperhalliwell but also let's not pretend that the biggest and most popular adult spice books feature healthy relationships
what would’ve made it better was simply YA writing instead of middle grade 🥲
I HATE hearing tropes I want to be surprised if the enemies get with each other 😩
The thing that gets me about the cartoon romance covers is the fact that it's bleeding into the historical romance genre. Part of the fun of historical romance is the beautiful painted covers with gorgeous dresses
I feel selling a book on tropes really only works well with romances.
You already know it's going to end in a HEA, but the tropes give you an idea if you're more likely to enjoy the journey.
The epilogue thing was interesting and I understand the perspective but I LIVE for the epilogues. Granted, I have not read a lot of time skip kind of epilogues, especially in fantasy. But when it comes to romance, EPILOGUES ARE SO GOOD. The characters all throughout the book are trying do something or struggling to achieve something and that epilogue just gives me a slice of life kind of happiness that I really love and adore where the characters are just living life and thriving.
yes and maybe this is a weird thing of me, but I just want to know if the characters got what they wanted, if the story and all that has happened was worth it and epilogues give me that reassurance, even for more action oriented books, it tells me if by whatever final battle did they make things better? did it last? when it ends abruptly with a final kiss or just winning a battle it feels incomplete, like I want more
Definitely agree it’s like a reward 😂❤
V.E Schwab did it right by posting the bonus story from The Archived online and then publishing it in the series bind-up a few years later. Love when bonus content is free online
This here! this is the way to do it! let people read it and then also include it in a different version for a *celebratory* edition later down the line.
7:03 me realizing I mostly read old books that have a table of contents and so didn't really notice they went away. I fully intend on having them in all the books I write.
Also I love naming my chapters, it's like a fun little game of 'oh this thing happens in this chapter but how do I say that without spoiling it?'
The flat Stanley reference was GOLDEN- I was thinking the same thing, but I feel like those books weren’t as popular (which is so sad lol)
Yes on the instant love! Here for the slow burn.
With regards to the break ups in books (and I think in media in general) I recently saw this Bengali movie where the parent of one of the main characters had a fairy-tale romance but then the marriage ended in divorce and the parent said "just because our happily ever after was short lived does not mean it never existed. We were in love and full of joy during that part of our life and that made it worth it even if we did not stay together forever" (rough translation, forgive me it may not be exact) and that really made me want to see more portrayals of love like this.
7:47 OH MY GOD, YOU USED MY COMMENT!!! Is this what it feels like to be acknowledged by your favorite celebrity?! 😭🤩
HAHAHA
Old person hot take maybe: I hate calling it spice. I’m old, that’s smut 😂
Honestly, I've heard only of the term smut even on tiktok where most people are younger than me 😂
Wait they're calling it spice now? I still remembered when sexual content was refered to as lemon or lime. Geez, I feel old 😮😮
18:22 "Like NO!!! LET THEM BE REST IN PEACE"
I laughed so hard 😂😂😂
Minor squabble: The hardcover to paperback conversion timeline is not a book trend. It's just the way the publishing cycle works. It's a business model. Like it or hate it, there is real data behind it. The hardcover gets its day in the sun ($$), then the paperback gives it new life ($).
I hate it when books release covers with like the movie/Tv movie posters in the movie / TV show is nothing like the book and the character on the book cover looks nothing like how the book character is described 😞
I agree for the most part, unless the book cover is so ugly that I seriously prefer the movie/TV version, and the tv poster doesn't really feature the characters, that is my case with City of Bones, the original cover was just a bare chest with the head cut of in a yellow city background and it is pretty ugly and looks like some weird erotic book, while I have an edition with a specific movie poster that just features the NYC skyline with the institute reflecting on the water, which is just better, but that is a rare case.
Whenever he said the interconnected bit I immediately went "shadowhunters"
I feel like the character coming back to life thing can work really well if (1) it serves the story, (2) it comes with lasting consequences and (3) it's done in a world where death has happened and has been established to stick the extreme majority of the time so that they still hit you in the feels.
For example (spoilers for Star Wars: the Clone Wars):
Echo from Domino Squad. We'd seen countless clones die, including half of Domino Squad by that point, so when he didn't come out of an exploded ship, it was very reasonable to assume he'd gone as well.
When we find out seasons later he'd survived, it wasn't a case of "oh he's alive, yay everything can go back to normal". He'd been mutilated and used to the point where he no longer felt he fit in with his regular clone brothers and decided to forge his own path with a new team, a team that felt like outcasts. And while he'd been missing, we'd seen the deaths of so many other clones we'd gotton attached to, including Echo's last squad mate Fives, who suffered one of the most tragic deaths in the series, and who died while thinking he was the final Domino to fall.
When this show brought back characters from the dead, it felt earned. For Echo, it didn't mean a happy ending, but further character development and a hopeful beginning.
I'm sure not everyone would agree with me, but that's my opinion on when a resurrection can work. It worked for me and, whenever I rewatch the ship exploding with Echo in it, It's still so tense and sad because of the trauma that event will cause him in the future, and from that moment he'd never see Fives again 😢
Omg the blurb/quote one. I will put a book down immediately if it only has a bunch of blurbs/quotes on the back.
Other trend I HATE is when the author name is bigger than the title
same! also, it is even worse when the blurbs are about teh authors work in general and not even that specific book I might buy.
That paperback one hits me especially. I only collect paperbacks, mostly for the fact that uk hardcovers are huge, and most don't fit on my shelf.
And so when i have to wait a year or so to get it in paperback, I'm super pissed, especially if its a book ive really been looking forward to.
17:50 I hate country exclusive bonus chapters/short stories being locked down forever. Make it available at some point! Example: I preordered a book and so I was emailed an exclusive short story that bridged the 2 books- awesome! Like a year(?) or so later it was published as a bonus novella that anyone could buy, and I love that! I got to read it first, keeping the meaning of a preorder bonus, but eventually everyone got to enjoy it. That's how it should be!
As someone who learned English later in life and doesn’t live in an English speaking country the accent change at 14:50 tripped me up badly haha! Suddenly my brain didn’t recognize your words as English for a few seconds. And after that English in general started sounding as foreign as it did to me back in fifth grade. But thankfully now I’m back to hearing it completely normally
As a fellow non native English speaker I can tell you you're not alone 😂 I once watched a show where a Scot and an American talked on the phone and I just couldn't understand the Scottish character at all eventho, when he was on screen alone, it was no problem. Accent switching is just very difficult to follow especially in a foreign language 😂
I feel you on the cartoon book covers! They were fun for while, but give me something new!
I just started reading Some Desperate Glory and I just made a note about how I love that it has chapter titles! Enjoying it so much :)
Thanks for featuring my comment! Absolutely agree with the cartoon covers all bleed together. I do really like the style but I can't differentiate between who's books are who's and I think it's pretty sad that there's no individuality anymore in terms of style. This also translates to other cover trends but the romance genre is just the first to come to mind since, in my opinion, it is the biggest offender.
I want us to go back to the painted book covers for romance books. I'm talking the ones from the 1980s where you can see the brushstrokes and if you look enough you can find the artists signature (because these were actual paintings done of full size canvases that would then be photographed and scaled down). There was also a kind of intimacy that you could feel because you know that the artists spent days on the cover and not like a few hours in Photoshop.
Sometimes I won't read a book because I don't like the author who left a blurb
I literally just watched this right before reading a book that had chapter titles in it.
Sarah J Maas is being called out in this video😂
I don't mind and I even like how books have tropes listed because it acts as a second summary with even more information. I hate being jumped scared by tropes or concepts or whatever that I hate or that actively freak me out so having all of these different tropes listed gives me a better play-by-play of what to expect. And I'm a character reader not a plot reader so I don't care if the tropes "ruin" the plot bc I'm not here for plot
I hate when the books in the same series are different heights. It makes me nervous to pick up the next book when im not sure it's the same as my other book
Yes. So much. What's even worse is when someone decides to switch from mass market to trade paperback sizes (looking at you,Mercedes Lackey anthologies)
I needed to hear someone complain about the state of publishing so bad 😭 I feel like no one around me does and it makes me feel like a snob or something
As a DC girlie, I actually really like the death-and-revival trope. There's always something interesting that happens in the inbetween part (ex. the fight for who should pick up the mantle, a metaphor for becoming an adult when a sidekick takes up their mentor's name, grief and terrible coping mechanisms, denial and the search for proof that the character is still alive, etc.). Plus, every now and then, the character that dies comes back with such a changed personality and/or morals, so all the effects of their death are still felt.
The only time I don't like the trope is when there is barely any time between the death and revivial.
I don't mind when a character comes back as long as it serves a purpose and makes sense within the confines of the world
And there have to be consequences imo. Like with Lady Stoneheard in asoiaf
One thing that drives me crazy with books is when printed on the cover it says "check out *blank* by this author" If anything put it on a sticker. when I pick up my book to read it I want to focus on the one I'm reading, not to be thinking about the next book that has come out
I’m so happy that Sherlock came back from the dead 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
That author blurb can backfire. I won't trust a book blurb from an author I don't like lol
TRUE
Okay, I hadn't thought through getting rid of cartoon book covers until you said no real people on the covers, and that brought to mind all those Harlequin romance covered books my Mamaw had on her shelves. No hate to romance books! But I prefer my book covers to be a bit more.... subtle than THAT.
the exclusive chapter from a US store I bet it was send by a SJM fan, lol
Yes so much to the return of the Table of Contents!
I love going back to reread some of my favourite scenes once I finish a book I love, and that is *so* much easier when I don't have to flip through the entire book to find the chapter!
I am reading the Custard Protocol series by Gail Carriger. The books are for adults. The chapters have titles😊
Lil late to the party with this one but I had a thought too
I think part of the reason some people are getting tired of the cutesy art style for a lot of modern romance books is because even though they contain a lot of adult themes (like smut, etc.) and are CLEARLY written for adults, a lot of adolescents from ages 12+ are buying these books.
Now I’m a firm firm believer that sex education should be taught younger on the pretense that statistically it lessens the chances of teen pregnancies, but these books are let’s say just fantasies for adults. Again that’s perfectly fine, I’m don’t mind a smut book once in a while, but publishers are actively targeting those same books to preteens/teens/young adults in attempt to make more profits.
(The reports of that are true and can be found online)
I think the best way to fix that issue is that books, just like movies, shows, and video games, need an age rating system. That way books that are for adults (including the author and cover artist) can keep their illustrated covers without having to worry about their reputation being dogged on because some kid’s parent didn’t fully look into a book their child picked.
Movie theaters and game stores will not let minors walk into a screening for R/X rated movie, or walk out of a store with a game that is rated M. If they can do it, then why can’t libraries or stores like Barnes and Noble do it too?
I love that I got to participate in this, this was so much fun!!! I luckily saw your community post at a good time to add to it!!
In Germany we have a lot of abstract romance covers. Like flowing colors. It does not say anything about the book itself but I really love it. And I don't like the cartoon style coming over from America (or where ever). Just leave me with my unassuming swirls of color!
I agree with the spice… every once and a while I don’t mind reading some, but I don’t want it to be the whole plot. Sometimes I need a break.
Go check out these authors:
Nora Roberts
Christine Feehan
Amanda Quick
Jayne Ann Krentz
Lynsay Sands
All adult smutty romance authors (NR it soft/light smut, but still good), AND THEY HAVE VARIETY COVERS! Especially NR, SOOOO gorgeous! I have never liked the cartoony/paint block covers, that doesn't give me adult romance vibes to me.
Sabrina Jeffries
Madeline Baker
I LOVE these covers, actual smutty romance covers
I love this concept!! ❤
Tbh I legit never read author blurbs. When book shopping these days I either have goodreads pulled up to get an actual description or I go in knowing I want.
the only time in books where I like table of contents in fiction novels are the Wheel of Time books and the Lord of the RIngs book
13:36 i just read Brandon Sanderson book where the epilog was fighting and chasing and I was wow wow wow wait a minute... we just settled things down for the next book what is this now 😂😂😂
If I heard it right, they don't even publish paperbacks if the hardcover version doesn't sell well enough. So it's also a gamble to wait, you might miss out.
If people want spice that bad, just go read erotica 😭
At least is properly written.
Leave them out of others books 😭
The spice thing is annoying because the people asking are asking on older YA books (pre 2019 releases) and it’s like… children having sex shouldn’t be a marketing point for you as an adult 😅. Also, those same people are either a) not getting adequate sex b) porn addicts or c) in their wattpad phase
Way too uniform cover styles are too common in any genre. I really want to support the upcoming new authors in my country, but the local cover aesthetic for literary fiction is 'late autumn dirt road puddle' and I'm like 'I had the best intentions but you know what? I can be dissuaded!'
I will check out a book from the library and wait a year to buy it in paperback before i spend $30+ on a hardcover. I wish the wait time was shorter, but I’ll do it 😔
I’m so happy you read my prompt, and your response was great!
Loved this video!!!
The paperback system is the worst!! I’m one of those people who only buys paperback, but also wants to read the book in the same calendar year it was released in 😂
Where/who/when was the 1st MODERN cartoonish ROMANCE NOVEL COVER MADE?? Im curious... Anyone know
I actually prefer romance books with animated covers. It leaves me more inclined to read the book. Especially for a light novel and manga reader.
7:55 OMG! YES!!! YES YES YES YES!! Bring back the synopsis on the back! How the f do you expect me to buy your book if I don't know what it's about?? Nobody cares what the "Guardian" or the "New York Times" has to say about it! You want my money? Then just tell me what the plot is about!
To the book covers being a cartoon, YES! At first I would only see it by a certain author and I thought it was cute - after some time, i would see more over that same style come out and realize it wasnt by the same author like 🤔 why? Lol.
i hate it when books drag their plot out, too. if i don't feel like the story is moving forward, it feels line wasted time. - especially bc i'm a slow reader and also struggle when i feel like i'm not making any progress.
The falling in love / getting into a relationship within 2 chapters is one of the biggest book turn off for me 😅 I would rather have them not confess at all but WE KNOW they're in love for like 3 books
Why did so many of these make me think of Cassie Clare books 👀🫢
It's the year of our Lord 2024 and we're still not releasing paperbacks at the same time as hardbacks. Not everyone wants, can afford, or has the space for hardbacks. The fact that half the time I even forget a book came out because I had to wait so long for the paperback. Or they don't even advertise or announce a paperback release so it comes out and has been out for months and I didn't even notice
On Booktok I hate people asking for spice in YA books. Why do you want to read about teens having sex?
The only spice I want is in my food. I'm sick of books that always have spice or overspice or outright glorify and romanticize abuse (Looking at you especially, Colleen Hoover!)
Ideally, I love enemies to lovers. But 9 times out of 10, it's actually rivals to lovers, and not even truly that. Most of the time, it's the MC thinking they're "enemies" (rivals), and there's no real, ACTUAL tension outside of the MC's head. Additionally, the "enemy"/rival/love interest is neutral, or even already romantically interested in the MC.
Agree! Too many times they are just being outwardly spiky to each other but already attracted the whole time. I read a romance one where the mains were established to have been tense and fighting at work for months (off page) and started out being genuinely excited when they could get away from each other. That made it so much more meaningful when the events of the story changed their opinions.
I love romance fantasy but I get it’s not for everybody SJM set a high standard for me ❤
The things I hate aren't really tropes but they are:
- Dust jackets. Print the art on the damn cover.
- When the cover is shorter for WHATEVER REASON leaving a strip of unprotected pages. Stop.
Spicy books are just another trend, it will go away eventually, especially if a lot of those books are no good. Honestly, I like erotica but I have ZERO interest in all the popular tik tok spicy books. there is a lot of great , sexy, emotional, beautiful romance books out there. it's just hard to find cuz too many trashy ones. But yeah, just because it's got spice in it, doesn't automatically make it bad book.
If anyone wants me to recommend some, tell me what themes you're interested in. 😊
How do you know if a fiction book is written by a ghostwriter? Do you find out through general research or can you just… tell?
I don't mind smut, BUT....let it be a slow-burn! I am currently reading 600 page standalone and I can't count how many times I have read the word ''cock'' or ''orgasm'' like...give it a rest, gurl! I get it, some people like it, but I like my slow burn. Also, in the end the conversations end up looking lewd like...ughhh.
Another thing that bothers me is ''love geometry''. Yeah, get rid of love triangles, please. They really aren't realistic...
Wait. What happened to the table of contents? I feel like I haven’t not had one in any books recently
I usually enjoy spice in my books. However a recent read literally began with it. First sentence plunged right into a s** scene…a long one! No introducing the characters or setting the stage for the story, just WHAM! Definitely not a good way to begin in my opinion.
People saying that this is the best book ever. Over hyping stuff. Now i fint know weather or not to read those books lol 😆
Team No Epilogues!
Coat-tailing. I hate it. One person writes a successful vampire novel, suddenly every novel on the shelf has vampires. One person writes a successful enemies (or, more accurately, rivals) to lovers book, suddenly every book on the shelf is enemies to lovers, it's infuriating. I love me a good steak but I don't want it every time I eat. If a Michelin chef served me perfectly cooked steak every single meal, I'd quickly find myself at the local Maccas. Variety, people, it's the spice of life!
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Using a salad bowl instead of a mug might make drawing the prompts a bit easier.
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I don't mind reading spice but I don't need to see it in every book I ever read, and I don't like gratuitous spice that's just there for fan service and contributes nothing to the story. If I was in the mood for that, I'd be reading erotica, not romance lol.
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I agree, bring back the table of contents and chapter titles.
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I'd rather wait a decade for a magnificent sequel than settle quickly for a mediocre one.
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I don't personally care for bonus chapters, but if they exist, they should be accessible to everyone who wants to read them. Reading is no place for that style of elitism.
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I strongly dislike when authors bring characters back from the dead. (Except Harry Potter, that's okay lol).
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I see no point in ghost written fiction. Either write it yourself or sell your idea to someone else. But, if it must happen, the actual writer should be acknowledged on the front cover.
I'm very pro-smut in books and am extremely wary of this very "sex-negative" seeming wave of discomfort with sexual content that seems to be happening online regarding media right now- HOWEVER, I think it is an issue that fantasy, YA, romance, and adult fiction seem to have been all just thrown into a giant mess of a singular genre, and it does feel quite difficult to effectively delineate what you actually want out of any one of those individual genres without having all of the baggage that comes with the others thrown at you as well. While I think if you feel like "all books have smut" these days, you're probably not looking very deeply- at the same time, I have full sympathy for the fact that the average book you see hyped up time and time again online seems to be the same romantasy smut vibe as the last thing. Smut isn't EVERYWHERE, but if you actively don't want it, publishers sure don't seem interested in making it easy to avoid stumbling into by accident.
I don't seek out spice and the only books I've read with spice is ACOTAR, Verity and Red White And Royal Blue. Red White And Royal Blue is the tamest out of those. I also only have a few spicy books (that I know of) on my TBR. Also, there are people who want spice in YA books. No! ACOTAR shouldn't even be considered YA. Many YA books have characters who are minors and the intended audience is also minors. It would not be appropriate and it would also be creepy for a grown adult to write that and for a grown adult to read that. If sex is mentioned, is should be a closed door/fade to black situation in YA. I am also sick of so many book recs having to do with spice. Spice is overrated and I definitely prefer romantic moments over sexual.
I agree with the cartoon book covers, I'm tired of them
I hate when the sequel ruins the first book's ending. I'm looking at you Peter Swanson 😒
I like female MCs but we need more Male MCs. ❤
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I don’t like book covers that have real people on them. I won’t buy them, and will hunt for a different cover.
I read an article one time that indicated the cartoon covers are used by publishers because it is cheaper than hiring models for the cover art. 🤷🏼♀️
I hope they pay the artist well still
Wouldn't these be called tropes and not trends?
I hate when authors only briefly describe the main characters. I want the most thorough description of what the character looks like. Please stop giving, “beautiful tresses atop a beautiful woman”. Girl, that’s too vague!!
I can’t stand the tropes on tiktok😭
22:49 it’s me :)
I just hate seeing the same books recommended over and over. Please someone talk about something else.
I'm so bored with the majority of primary characters being female. If Ian Fleming was writing today, he would have to make his hero Jane Bond in order to get it published. Decades ago female characters were often secondary and often two-dimensional and so rightly that needed to be worked on. But it's gone too far the other way. We now have macho women and wimpy men. I'm a woman, and I really miss having a selection of strong, complex and heroic males in books today.
That paperback one hits me especially. I only collect paperbacks, mostly for the fact that uk hardcovers are huge, and most don't fit on my shelf.
And so when i have to wait a year or so to get it in paperback, I'm super pissed, especially if its a book ive really been looking forward to.
Same.
With books I really want, I just buy the hardcover, but still...super mad.
Absolutely! I have some preorders just waiting in my Waterstones basket, but I know there's at least two or three new releases this year that I really want, that are only being released in hardcover to begin with.
That paperback one hits me especially. I only collect paperbacks, mostly for the fact that uk hardcovers are huge, and most don't fit on my shelf.
And so when i have to wait a year or so to get it in paperback, I'm super pissed, especially if its a book ive really been looking forward to.